Fate X Encounter X Elements
by angexlinye
Summary: Lucinda Kiatus isn't your typical 13-year-old girl; born with the ability to use Nen at a young age, she has been given the power to bend the elements to her will. But after a failed kidnapping attempt leaves her family dead, she sets off for the Hunter Exam with a plan to capture those responsible. Little does she know that the people she'll meet will change her forever...
1. Chapter 1

**Hiya! So... this story will be from two perspectives, Lucinda (main character) and Kurapika.**

**Since I'm pretty new to the community, please please review and pm me some suggestions! (especially about their personalities. I might not have been able to capture their tone perfectly, so...) I don't know where the story will go yet, but I promise you I'll get better along the way! (And maybe there'll be some more romance too (?) )**

**Thanks (in advance) ^_^ **

***Please note that I do not own any of the characters except for Lucinda. All the details from the manga/anime belong to the author!"**

* * *

**Lucinda POV**

"AAAHHHHHH!"

I bolted upright from where I fell asleep leaning against the wall. "Wha-"

_Crack!_ My head slams into the stone ceiling, a sickly sound resounding throughout the alcove as the unforgiving material knocked my brain out of one of my ears. The world blurred once, twice; cradling my head in my hands, I gently massaged the place I'd been hit with my fingertips.

"H-H-H-H-" the voice screamed again, "H-H-Help me!"

I glared at the sea of heads below me. More people had arrived since I'd fallen asleep, and the nauseating smell of man-sweat mugged up the already-nasty underground air. Jumping down from where I sat, I brush the dirt off the back of my cloak and stretch my arms upwards; blonde hair tumbles out of my cloak as the hood slips off, the long strands brushing the back of my knees. Taking a deep breath, I count 1... 2... 3... 4... 5... and breath out.

"There goes my chance at a nap," I mumble to myself as I lower my arms to my sides again.

"Hm~ Let's be careful now shall we?" A different, higher-pitched voice drawled. I shuddered at the sound, the hair on the back of my neck almost immediately standing up. "Remember to apologize when you bump into someone."

_Might as well go check it out now that I'm awake._ Pulling the hood over my head, I made my way over, completely unaware of the people I was soon to meet.

•●•

**Kurapika POV**

_A few minutes earlier..._

_The atmosphere is clearly different_, I think as we step off the elevator. The gaze of over a hundred pairs of eyes pressed upon us, some out of curiosity, some out of boredom, but most of them out of unspoken aggression. _These applicants... they're different from the ones before. Everyone here must be an expert at something._

"_Sugoi_..." Gon bounces around, too excited to stay still. "There are so many people here!" And looking around, I realize he's right; the hall was already packed, leaving only a small square of space left in front of the elevator. _Damn it… are we one the the last to arrive?_

"That's because you're the 405th person, kiddo." A man in a green and yellow sweater jumped down from where he sat on a ledge and offered his hand to Gon. "Yo, I'm Tonpa. Number 16 this year, at your service."

_This year...?_ "I'm Gon!" He reached out and shook Tonpa's hand. "Nice to meet you!"

Turning to us, Gon pointed us out. "These are my friends Kurapika..." Tonpa reached out and squeezed my hand. "Nice to meet you!"

"...and Leorio!" Leorio gave a small wave, and answered, "Pleasure."

The small, chunky man continued to exchange pleasantries with us, asking all about where we were from and what we were doing at the Hunter Exam. Although I didn't trust his apparent helpfulness, I could tell that Gon had taken a liking to him, so I kept quiet.

"Hmm, you guys must be new, huh?" Tonpa asked, scratching his head.

"You can tell?"

"'Course," he replied. "I've taken the exam thirty-five times before, you know? Haha, I'm practically a veteran here. If you have any questions, feel free to ask."

"Thanks!" Gon beamed at him.

"Th-Thirty-five times...?" Leorio muttered to me. "Wow." I nodded in agreement. Thirty-five times seemed to be one too many for even the most persistent of contestants.

"Ah, so you must be the rumoured Tonpa-san, am I correct?" Turning around, we came face to face with a short, chubby boy: #187.

Tonpa asked, "...And you are?"

"Well, you probably wouldn't know me," the boy replied. "I'm a rookie. Number 187, Nicolas."

"Hello! I'm Gon!" However, Nicolas ignored him and continued to type on his laptop. "Hmmm, so I see... Did you know that 35 times is the 2nd most in history? And to add on to that, you've made it to the Main Exam 30 times. Very impressive."

"Well..." Tonpa began, "I've never passed the test though. I guess you can call me an all-time failure."

"All-time failure huh..." Nicolas shut his laptop. "I guess that title would fit someone like you. Now, if you'll excuse me." Turning on his heel, he promptly walked back in the crowd of people.

"Gahh, what an irritating kid." Leorio remarked.

"Aha, but he's got me there." Tonpa turned around, rubbing his head. "I have never passed the exam before...

"However, now I'm glad I didn't. Seems as though a lot of interesting people have gathered this time." He pointed to the left. "Look there."

We followed his gaze to the centre of the room where a tall, bald asian man stood talking to another person. Number 294.

"Just between the two of us..." the asian man began, "I'm actually a ninja. No really! I am!"

Tonpa directed our gaze to a man in a grey suit. "And there."

"To me, there are no secrets to martial arts," he said to another in a blue suit.

Continuing to recite from his list of interesting applicants, I took note of 3 more people he pointed out: A snake charmer, sumo wrestler and a trio of brothers.

_Looks like a lot of people have the potential to pass this year..._ I think to myself, my gaze drifting around the room.

Suddenly, a man screamed.

"AAAAHHHH!" A poker card flew into the wall beside an armless man, jarring him back into the corner. "Someone, H-H-H-H-H-Help me!"

"Hm~ Let's be careful now, shall we? Apologize if you bump into someone." A man in a joker suit smiled, then slowly walked away.

_Wait… what was that?!_

"Tch," Tonpa swore. "The dangerous man is back again. Number 44, the magician Hisoka. Everyone thought that he would've passed last year... but at the last minute he was disqualified for nearly killing an examiner he didn't like. To make it even worse, there are nearly 20 candidates who he has disabled for life, and quite a few who are already dead. Don't go near him, guys."

'Ah, so that explains the chill I get from looking at him.' I think, looking away from the man in the corner.

"S-Someone like that can take the exam again this year?" Leorio asks, voicing my own concern.

"Yep," Tonpa turns back to us. "The examiner for the Hunter Exam changes every year, and they're the ones who get to choose the tests. If that examiner says 'You pass'... even the devil could become a Hunter. Now THAT is the Hunter Exam."

•●•

**Lucinda POV**

As soon as I got near the crowd of people, the nauseating smell of blood washed over me. _What the hell happened here?_ I wondered, pushing my way to the front.

"Excuse me— oh whoops, yup pardon me, just moving through…" My eyes widen in alarm as I see the figure lying on the floor in front of us.

The middle aged man moaned, squirming as blood gushed out of the sockets where his arms used to be. The ever growing puddle of blood inched towards us, bright red against the dull grey stones of the floor. I backed away, feeling sick to my stomach.

"Hn, does blood scare you, little kitten?" Hearing the familiar voice, I freeze and look up to see a man with a headful of bright blue hair lick blood off a poker card. He chuckled. "Looks like somebody's not ready for the Hunter Exam yet."

_To me, it looks like somebody here has got quite the sick, twisted personality._ Turning away from both the man and the clown, I quickly bow my head in sympathy and then walk away, pulling my hood farther down as I felt his gaze on my back.

"No reply?" he called after me. "Well in that case, ja ne kitty cat~"

I shuddered and started jogging. _Note to self. Stay away from suspicious-looking clowns when not in a circus. Better yet, stay away from them altogether._ I looked back at him, trying to see the number of his tag. But as if he sensed my gaze, he looked at me and mouthed, "Meow."

What. The heck.

_Runawayrunawayrunaway_, I chant in my head, turning away from his grin. However in my rush to get as far away as I could from him, I knock into someone's back and land sprawled on the stone floor.

"_Itai_…" I rub my back, mentally cursing myself for my clumsiness. What's worst was that I swear I could hear that clown behind me, laughing his pretty little head off.

"I'm so sorry!" A spiky-haired boy turns around, and reaches out his hand. "Are you okay?"

_Oh shoot, my hood came off!_ I scramble to my feet, hastily pulling it back on and stuffing my hair back inside. "Yeah… don't worry about me."

He smiled. "That's good! What's your name?"

_Well, no use hiding the fact that I'm a girl now._ "Lucinda," I mumble.

"Huh? What is it again?" He leans down towards me, letting me try a little louder. "Lucinda."

"Ohh, hi Lucinda! My name is Gon! These are my friends, Kurapika," he pointed at the blondie, "Leorio," then at the old man, "and my newest one! Tonpa!"

"Nice to meet you, Lucinda!" Tonpa says, reaching out to shake my hand.

_Sweat!?_ "Yeah, nice to meet you too." I retract my hand, mentally willing myself not to wipe it on my cloak.

Suddenly, I feel someone pull the hood off my head."Hey, why do you wear that?" Leorio asked, standing behind me. "You look much better without."

"Don't touch that!" I yell, pulling it back on. "I-It's none of-"

The blondie—Kurapika, I think—interrupted. "Just how old are you, Lucinda-san?"

_Here we go again…_ Ever since I was young, I was the shortest in my family. Checking in at 4 foot 10 barefoot, I've spent my entire life looking up at people, including all four of my youngest siblings. I couldn't gain muscle, couldn't gain weight, couldn't grow tall; no matter how many times my mother told me that I was a late bloomer, I've already lost all hope.

So that's why I knew what they would see when they looked at me; a petite girl whose big purple eyes dominated at least half of her face. With long, blond hair that has curled its way down the back of my thighs, my only articles of clothing consisted of a grey cloak, a white blouse, a purple skirt and black tights. I didn't look like I belonged here— that was going to have to change.

I glare at him and answer, "I'm much older than you think, blondie. 13, going on 14 in a week."

"You're only a year younger than Kurapika?" Leorio exclaims, "You look much less than that!"

"Blondie?" Kurapika mumbles in confusion.

Gon laughs, and reaches out his hand. "Well, since we're all so close in age, let's become good friends, 'kay?"

I smile at him and clasp his hand; talking about how I look has always been a pet peeve of mine. "Sure."

Suddenly, an ear-splitting alarm fills the room as a tall, white-haired man jumps from the ceiling onto the ground.

"Reception time is over." He states, shutting off the alarm in his hands. "The Hunter Exam begins now."


	2. Chapter 2

**Aaaaand, I'm back! Wowee, when I uploaded my fanfic I never imagined that people would actually read it... so I must say thank you to everyone who took the time to do so!**

**My first author's note was pretty short, so to make up for the short chapter, I'll provide some more info on Lucinda/the story at the end of the next chapter ^_^ **

**Sooo, let's get into this!**

* * *

_Suddenly, an ear-splitting alarm fills the room as a tall, white-haired man jumps from the ceiling onto the ground._

_"Reception time is over." He states, shutting off the alarm in his hands. "The Hunter Exam begins now."_

* * *

_**Kurapika POV**_

"If you accept these risks, please follow me."

It's been over an hour since we've left the main exam hall, but the ceiling and walls haven't shown any signs of changing.

_'Based on the elevator ride we took to get down here... if we were nearing the exit, there should be a slight angle to the ground we are running on.'_

I looked around again; nope, nothing has changed.

Wiping my forehead with the sleeve of my shirt, I looked back at the group running with me. I'd met Gon and Leorio on the ship departing from Whale Island a couple of days ago when they— late for the ship—had jumped on from one of the cliffs in the area.

Having been intrigued by their behaviour, I had decided to accompany them to the exam site, only to find myself relying upon them more and more.

Although I came here to avenge my comrades, to get back the scarlet eyes of my clan... for now, I will let myself be selfish and spend time with these... friends.

"I'm sorry if this is a bit late," the white-haired man called from the front, interrupting my thoughts. "My name is Satotsu, the person in charge of the First Phase. I will be leading you to the next centre."

"So we just have to follow him?" Gon asks, picking up the pace to match that of the examiner.

'I guess so.' I think.

**30 minutes later...**

"I..." everyone looked back to see Lucinda collapsed on the floor, breathing heavily. "I can't go any further right now."

Gon immediately runs back to her, pulling her up and supporting her on his shoulder. "Come on, Lucinda, you can't stop now! We'll be there soon, so you have to keep going!"

Shaking her head, she extracted herself from his grasp. "No... you guys go ahead. I can't go any furthe-" Doubling over, she clutched her stomach and started coughing, her small frame shaking.

I walked over and tapped her on her shoulder. "Illness?" I asked.

"Asthma." She lowered herself onto the ground and leaned her head against the wall. "I-I'll catch up soon enough. Go, while you can still see the group."

"But Lucinda..." Gon protested.

"Nah, she's right." We all turned around and looked at Tonpa. "Let her rest for a bit guys; she's a tough cookie, she'll make it in time."

"Exactly.." She started coughing again. "Wait for me at the exit."

Seeing as though Gon need a bit more persuasion, I stepped and up and said, "Asthma attacks usually pass quickly, but it can become much worse if the lungs are further aggravated. I agree with Tonpa; let us go now before we too are left behind."

Looking slightly concerned, Gon reluctantly agreed. "We'll meet you there, Lucinda."

She smiled weakly at us. "Go."

But as we left Lucinda against the wall, I couldn't help but look back at her small, vulnerable figure.

•●•

After waiting another five minutes to make sure they were far away, I picked myself up from the floor and brushed off the offending dust and dirt.

"Well, I wasn't exactly lying," I muttered to myself as I raised my hand into the air. Focusing my attention on the ground below me, I whispered _"Wind,"_ and lifted myself into the air.

_'Maybe I shouldn't have made my condition seem that serious,'_ I thought to myself. '_It's true that I was starting to get tired back there, but if any of them are familiar with what an asthma attack is really like...'_ I paused, trying to think of the possible outcomes. _'Well, whatever. I've only met those people a while ago anyway.'_

Picking up my pace, I drifted down the tunnel, watching the ground for the footsteps of the group.

_'Hmmm, the others, huh? Well, that Gon kid is definitely someone I could work with,'_ I thought, smiling at my memory of the kid. With his bright green clothes and spiky hair, he had an enthusiastic personality that people just can't resist.

_'Leorio... is okay, I guess. I haven't talked to him enough to reach an opinion about him, but I do hope that his business outfit won't say too much about his character.'_

Conjuring a small orb of water, I watched as it shifted its way around my fingers, slithering its way across my palm and around my wrist.

_'Out of the other two, Tonpa seems easier to talk to. Kurapika...' _I dissipated the water that was inching up to the sleeve of my blouse, and increased my pace.

_'Kurapika will need some more observation before a final conclusion,'_ I finally decide, flying down the tunnel to reach the group.

_'Looks like the Hunter Exam isn't a waste of time after all.'_

•●•

* * *

**_And that's it! Will Gon and the others find out about Lucinda's acting? Read the next chapter to find outt (also I sincerely apologize for such a short chapter, I'll upload the next later this evening to make up for it)_**


	3. Chapter 3

**Yay, a long chapter! **

**As promised, at the end of this chapter I will be providing some more info on Lucinda and the story in general, so please read til then to find out (: **

**Oh, also because school will be starting soon, maybe expect me to upload every 3 - 7 days? (But sometimes I might feel super productive and write 2 whole chapters. Well, we'll see)**

**So without further delay, let's get this started!**

* * *

_'Hmmm, the others, huh? Well, that Gon kid is definitely someone I could work with,'_ I thought, smiling at my memory of the kid. With his bright green clothes and spiky hair, he had an enthusiastic personality that people just can't resist.

_'Leorio... is okay, I guess. I haven't talked to him enough to reach an opinion about him, but I do hope that his business outfit won't say too much about his character.'_

Conjuring a small orb of water, I watched as it shifted its way around my fingers, slithering its way across my palm and around my wrist.

_'Out of the other two, Tonpa seems easier to talk to. Kurapika...' _I dissipated the water that was inching up to the sleeve of my blouse, and increased my pace.

_'Kurapika will need some more observation before a final conclusion,'_ I finally decide, flying down the tunnel to reach the group.

_'Looks like the Hunter Exam isn't a waste of time after all.'_

* * *

_**Kurapika POV**_

"Did you notice as well?" Leorio asked me, referring to the so-called "asthma attack" Lucinda had.

I nodded. "Yeah. It was an act."

"Why do you think she would do that?"

_'That's what I've been trying to figure out as well..' _I sighed. "Still not sure yet. However, I don't feel as though it was done to hinder us."

"Whatever you say..." He fell silent again, lost in his own thoughts.

"Ne, Kurapika, how long do you think we've been running?" Gon asked me, looking back from where he ran with Tonpa.

_'How long HAVE we been running?' _I think to myself. _'Although I'm sure it's only been a couple of hours, it seems to have been much longer than that.' _As I opened my mouth to answer, Tonpa interjected. "2 hours, 31 minutes and 46 seconds."

"How much longer are we going to run?" Gon whined. "I really need to _go."_

"You'd better hold it," came a voice from behind, and we all turned around. With his hands stuffed in his pockets was a boy around the same age as Gon, balanced on a yellow and red skateboard.

Giving us all a quick glance, he returned his attention to Gon. "Based on how long we've been running, we should be there soon e-"

"HEY KID, THAT'S NOT ALLOWED!" Leorio yelled, jabbing a finger at the kid. "GET OFF! THAT'S CHEATING!"

He looked at him. "Why?"

"WHY...?!" A vein pulsed in his forehead. "'CAUSE IT'S AN ENDURANCE TEST!"

"That's not true, Leorio!" Gon protested, "Satotsu-san just asked us to follow him."

"GON! WHICH SIDE ARE YOU ON?"

I sighed. "Leorio, the principle is that there are no principles. You'd be better off conserving your energy than arguing with him on this."

"WHY YOU..."

"Say," the white-haired boy asked Gon, "how old are you?"

"Almost 12!"

"Hmmm..." the boy flipped off his skateboard and began to run beside us. "What are your names?"

"I'm Gon! And beside me is Kurapika, Leorio, and Tonpa!"

"Oh, so your name is Tonpa, Number 16?" He asked, running up beside him.

"Oh ummm, y-yes, why yes it is," Tonpa stuttered, looking mildly uncomfortable standing next to the boy. "Nice to meet you...?"

"Killua."

"Ah yes, very nice to meet you indeed. I'm going t-to go greet some of my old friends. Once again, it was very very nice to m-meet you!" He said, running to the front of the group.

"Tch," Killua muttered to himself.

_'What's the history between those two..?" _I wonder.

"So, how old are you, Killua?" Gon asked.

"Same as you. 12. What about you?" He asks me.

"15, going on 16."

"And you, old man?" He smirked, waiting for Leorio's inevitable outburst.

"OLD MAN?! WHO ARE YOU CALLING OLD MAN? I'M FROM THE SAME GENERATION AS YOU GUYS!"

"NO WAY!" Everyone yells.

"Argh, that's it! I'm never going to talk to you guys ever again!"

I shuddered. _'Maybe I should keep my distance...'_

•●•

_'Huh, did I wait too long?' _I wondered to myself. I've been flying for almost an hour now, but there has been no sight of the group anywhere. I could've just sped up, but after using my powers for almost an hour I could barely keep myself a foot above the floor.

_'Damn it, at this rate, I'll never make it in time.' _Wiping the sweat from my face, I gathered the space around my hair and tied it back with a tendril of air.

Suddenly, the beginnings of a memory flip through my mind. _'"Blood. Darkness. The screams of my family as they-"_

_'NO!' _I shake my head vigorously, trying to stop the memory from continuing. _'Okay, okay, I remember now. This isn't just for myself,' _I think. _'It's for Ma, for Pa, for Hikari, Kai, Maika and Miaka. Focus, Lucinda! Don't let their deaths go to waste!'_

"Come on," I say to myself, "let's do this!" Lifting myself an inch above the ground, I launched myself towards where Gon and the others waited.

_**1 hour later...**_

It won't be long now; the footsteps are getting louder and louder.

_'I'd better jog the rest of the way,' _ I think to myself as I turned the corner. Settling myself back on the ground, I released the air around my hair and mentally prepared myself for the fatigue that would settle in.

After a couple of seconds with no signs of an impending consequence, I thought _'Huh, maybe I'm finally getting stro-"_

_BAM! _Suddenly, all my strength drained away, leaving me slumped against the wall in exhaustion. My vision darkened at the corners of my eyes as I lay panting.

_'Okay...'_ I thought as I pushed off the wall. _'Maybe—just maybe—I went a bit overboard this time.'_

•●•

_**Kurapika POV**_

"I can't believe it!" Leorio wheezed, his steps become slower and slower. "We've been running for around 4-5 hours already... so why hasn't anyone quit yet?!"

Gon stopped and turned to look at him, worry etched upon his face. "Are you okay, Leorio?"

"Gon-kun! Kurapika-kun! Leorio-san!"

We look up to see Lucinda running up behind Leorio, panting heavily as she leaned her palms on her knees.

"What's wrong with Leorio-san?" She asks, looking at him in concern.

"He can't go any further..." I begin.

"Forget it. Can't you tell the old man's already finished?" Killua interjected, walking over to where we all stood. "Leave him here and tell him to take the exam again next year."

Lucinda glared at him. "And you are?"

"Something that's for me to know and for you to find out, little girl" he retorted, looking away from her.

"Why you little BRAT-"

"But Killua, Leorio's our friend! We have to help him!" Gon protested.

"Hm, so you're Killua-kun, huh?" Lucinda sang smugly after finding out his name.

He ignored her. "I'm telling you, it's the end of the road for h-"

"I'M READY TO DO ANYTHING TO BE A HUNTER!" Leorio roared, sprinting past us and into the group ahead. "YESS! THIS IS IT!"

Leaving us in his dust, we watched Leorio run. _'Huh that's strange..' _I think. Suddenly, I feel someone tugging on my sleeve. "Kurapika-kun..."

Looking down, I see Lucinda standing beside me, also looking at Leorio. "Let's not get left behind, ne?"

"Yeah..." I agree. _'Wow, she sure is small,' _I think. _'She barely reaches my chest. _"By the way, how are you feeling?" I ask her, studying her carefully composed expression.

"Oh, I'm feeling much better," she replies casually. "Let's run, shall we?" Letting go of my sleeve, she quickly averted her gaze. "They're quite far away now."

"Of course." Nodding to me, she left to go catch up with the group.

"I don't get it," I murmur,watching as she caught up to a now bare-chested Leorio. "What in the world is she hiding from us?"

"Well, for one her eyes change colour."

_'What?!' _"What do you mean!?" I ask Killua

"Exactly what I said. Her eyes change colour."

_'Well, she did avert her gaze when I tried to look at her...' _"It can't be. People's eyes don't just change colour on their own."

He shrugged, walking away. "You don't have to believe me," he called over his shoulder. "Maybe it was just a trick of the light."

"The colour you saw was close to her original eye colour, right?" I asked.

Killua just waved a hand at me and walked back towards Gon. But then, when he thought I wasn't listening, he muttered to himself, "Sure, if you think yellow is close purple."

* * *

**Wait what? Lucinda's eyes change colour?**

**Okay starting off, thank you thank you thank you to Luna Kurai Okami for taking the time to write that review (: Haha being a first-time author I really am a bit iffy when it comes to my writing, but I promise I'll improve along the way! (Also thank you for that tip! I'll keep that in mind.**

**And now for Lucinda.**

**I came up with the idea of Lucinda when I was watching Shugo Chara! the other day, and one character (Named Rima) really caught my eye. So yep, having wanted to write a HxH fanfic for a very long time I decided to make up my own version of Rima and toss her into the the world. (As you can see from the image) For now, it's only the appearance that represents her... (excluding her eyes. I decided to make them purple so that I could develop the details of her power a bit more) but maybe I'll change her personality completely. Who knows? (not even me lol)**

Lucinda Hathaway: Age 13

Height: 4 foot 10

Weight: 80 lbs

Hair length/colour: Knee length, curled and blond

Eye colour: Violet (usually)

Attire: Dark purple headband with a side bow, white blouse (with another bow in the center) and a purple skirt.

**Also... I was thinking of making this take a turn down the _ x OC alley. Not quite sure yet, but if you have any suggestions please PM them to me or put them in the review!**

**Whew, I think I've rambled on enough this time. Currently in progress with Chapter 4, hopefully I'll be able to upload 1 - 2 more before school starts!**

**Ta ta~ ^_^**


	4. Chapter 4

**Konnichiwa guys ^_^ how are y'all doing lately?**

**I know I know that I promised to upload yesterday, but while I was copying and pasting from my Google Docs, apparently I had clicked "Ctrl + x" instead of "Ctrl + c" (I was doing this all on my phone btw, so it was pretty hard in the first ): )**

**When I had finally finished editing everything in the Document Manager, my browser timed out and basically told me that I had to copy and paste again; only problem was, I didn't have anything left to copy**

**But excuses aside, I truly sorry for not uploading ): Here is the rewritten copy of Chapter 4! Please forgive me if it seems a bit rushed, but I have been writing nonstop all day today (on my way to and from school, during lunch; y'know, the little moments) and may have messed up the flow of the plot. When I have my first break I promise I'll edit all the chapters I've written!**

**That's enough rambling from me. Enjoy the story ^^**

* * *

_"It can't be. People's eyes don't just change colour on their own."_

_He shrugged, walking away. "You don't have to believe me," he called over his shoulder. "Maybe it was just a trick of the light."_

_"The colour you saw was close to her original eye colour, right?" I asked._

_Killua just waved a hand at me and walked back towards Gon. But then, when he thought I wasn't listening, he muttered to himself, "Sure, if you think yellow is close purple."_

* * *

"Let's pick up the pace."

_'You've got to be kidding me,'_ I think, watching as the examiner pranced on ahead. _'Is this guy even human?' _

It's been almost 6 hours since we've started this phase, and by now the only thing keeping me going were the sounds of Gon and Killua's footsteps running beside me. Breathing heavily, I coughed and swallowed the blood collecting at the back of my throat. _'Right foot up, left foot down,' _I ordered myself. With my legs numb from exhaustion, I could only pray that they wouldn't give up on me now.

At this rate I knew I couldn't hold out for much longer. Never in my life have I been able to run for such a long time, and never in my life have I been forced to either. Flying was my own form of running, and by the the age of four I could do that with ease. The only problem now...

...was that I'd transferred the last of my energy to keep Leorio going.

_'You BAKA,'_ my self-conscience yells at me, _'why would you fork over the last of your energy to him when you yourself need it most? Just how do you suppose you're going to keep moving, huh? By force of will alone? What a joke!'_ My legs ache in agreement, begging me to stop running.

Looking back now, I find that I was in fact being a complete idiot. Now that I've used up my energy supply, I was running purely on my own life energy, which took a much, much longer time to regenerate. To put it bluntly, using too much of my life energy in one go could result in unconsciousness, or even death. Ma had drilled that into me a long time ago, and even now I could here her yelling at me with my self-conscience, scolding me for my thoughtlessness.

Yet deep down, in one dark, abandoned corner of my heart, I realize why I did what I did.

I had made... friends.

"Hey, I didn't realize we were at the front!" Gon exclaimed, snapping me out of my thoughts.

Killua scoffed. "That's because in reality, this pace isn't very hard to keep. When running marathons like this, moving the most efficient way is always the fastest way."

_'...Huh?'_ Gon and I look at him, confusion written all over our faces. I mentally flip through my vocabulary, trying to find a difference between "moving efficiently" and "moving the fastest way."

_'To the extent of my knowledge, 'moving efficiently' practically means 'to move the fastest way'. Either there's something I'm not getting here, or Killua's an idiot.' _I consider it for a second, then nod.

_I think Killua's an idiot.'_

As I open my mouth to inform him of his idiocy, he cuts me off. "Forget it."

An uncomfortable silence settles over us as we run in silence, the sounds of footsteps and panting in the air. Reaching a set of stairs, the examiner leaps up first couple of steps and gesture for us to follow him.

_"Come on, now we're supposed to climb stairs?" _Someone at the back complains. A few seconds later, a muffled "_mpf" _could be heard coming from the same area. I mentally reach out to the person; I hated stairs too.

"Ne Killua..." Gon begins, "Why do you want to be a Hunter?"

I perk up at the change of topic. Why _does_ Killua want to become a Hunter? He doesn't seem like the type of person who would get a license just for the sake of it. So what is his ulterior purpose? _'Could it be that h-'__  
_

"To be honest, I don't really want to be a Hunter." He replies, interrupting my thoughts. "I've just heard that the test was really hard to pass, and thought that it'd be interesting to try. But if we're going to spend a whole phase running in some kind of dark tunnel; well, I'm pretty disappointed to say the least."

_'And so am I.' _"Just who does he think he is?" I mutter to myself.

"Hmm, if you have something to say, you'd better spit it out Lucy-chan," Killua sang.

_'Crap, he heard me!'_ "Don't call me Lucy-chan," I snap at him, refusing to answer his question.

"Fine then. Tell us what you want to say, Lucinda." He says. I stay silent.

"Okay, then I'll give you something to talk about. Why do you want to be a Hunter, Lu-chan?"

I fume. That little brat— "Don't call me Lu-chan either!" _'It's not like I would tell you anyway.'__  
_

But then at that moment, I swear the size Gon's eyes doubled. "Come on Lucy," he says, "tell us why you're taking the test!"

"Gon, I-"

"Hey why does Gon get to call you Lucy?" Killua interrupts. "That's not fair! If he gets to call you Lucy I'm going to call you Lulu!"

_'What?!'_ "NO you cannot call me Lul-"

"_Lulu," _he sang, "_Lulu Lulu Lulu~"_

_"__URUSEI!" _I run towards him, ready to permanently mess up that pretty face of his. But Killua just laughs and dodges my punch, saying "It doesn't even sound intimidating when you're saying it, Lulu."

"I SAID DON'T CALL ME LULU, YOU— _oof!"_

At that moment, Gon had jumped onto my back, causing me to lose my balance and trip on the the stairs in front of me. Rolling down, we knock several more applicants backwards off the stairs and finally end up with him on my back, his weight slowly but surely crushing me. "Get... off..."

"Oh no!" He scrambles off me and pulls me up. "I'm so, so sorry Lucinda!" _'So we're back to Lucinda, huh?'_ I think dazedly as I right myself back on my feet. While I checked myself for injuries, Gon quickly runs to the side of the stairs and look down at the men sprawled at the bottom. "GOMENASAI!" he yells, then runs back to me. Meanwhile, Killua is standing above us laughing and clutching his stomach, spluttering, "AHAHA, I can't believe... I can't believe... that you actually... The girl's TINY, _baka!_"

"Urusei..." I grumble, brushing the dirt off my cloak. He laughs even harder at my voice, finding my swearing to be one of the most amusing things ever.

I ignore him. _'At __least my hood's still on,'_ I comment, relieved that it didn't fall off again. _'For now, Killua can only make fun of my name, size and voice.'_ "Come on," I sigh. "Let's not get left behind."

We begin to run again, this time with Killua between Gon and I. Quickly bypassing the candidates who went in front of us while we were fooling around, we didn't speak again until we were again right behind the examiner.

"I truly am sorry..." Gon says guiltily, looking at me with his puppy eyes. "I never meant to push you over, I just forgot about your size at that time."

I shrug and rub a hand over my face, replying with an "It's fine, really."

"Really?" He chirps, turning back to usual bubbly self. I nod tiredly.

"Yay! Then that means that Lucy-nee's going to tell us!"

_'Huh?' _"Wait a second, I never said anything about—"

Suddenly, Killua interrupts. "_Uso!_ Lulu is OLDER than you?!" He exclaims. "She looks like she's at least 3 years younger!"

"Yup!" Gon replies, "She's almost the same age as Kurapika!"

"Unbelievable..."

"Do you want me to talk or not?" I growl, annoyed that another person couldn't tell how old I was.

They shut up immediately and looked at me with expectant eyes. "_Hai!_"

"Well..." _'Lielielie.'_ "My reason is pretty similar to Killua's," I say, swallowing the guilt I felt from deceiving them. "I just came here to see if I could."

"And your parents just let you?" Killua asks. I inhale sharply, not expecting him to ask that question.

"My parents are dead."


	5. Chapter 5

**Oh my sweet goodness.**

**Thank you all so SO much for the reviews, follows, favourites— I can't even express how happy I was when I saw that people were actually reading this, and that I wasn't just a hermit talking to a wall online. So thank you, thank you, _thank you._**

**And speaking of reviews... I'll be answering them here! So if you want to skip now, just scroll down and you'll see chapter 5 of this story. Enjoy! ^_^**

**_..._**

**_..._**

**_..._ Still here?**

**_Okay,_ let's get on with it!**

**anon: Yeah... about that, I probably mistyped (misstyped?) the description, but yes Lucinda is 13 years old, turning 14 very very soon.**

**Sirenightsparrow: ahaha I totally agree, Killua can be an asshole sometimes yknow?**

**Luna Kurai Okami: Np! And yesyes, Shugo Chara is like one of the first animes I've even watched (excluding of course Sailor Moon)**

**And that's it! Please please keep reviewing, it would really make my day (like seriously)**

**Enjoy the story!**

* * *

**Killua POV**

Well.

That shut me up pretty quickly.

"Oh Lucy-chan, I'm so sorry!" Gon says, looking at her with pity. She nods her head in acknowledgement, silent, but doesn't make a move to reply to his comment.

I wince. '_Smooth, Lulu. Real smooth.'_

"I can't even begin to imagine what's it like living without your parents," Gon continues, oblivious to Lucinda's not-so-subtle "shut up". "Who cooks your food? Who washes your clothes? Who puts you to bed? Okay and well, it's not that I don't not have parents either. My mum died when I was little, and Ging just doesn't visit Whale Island anymore; he's a Hunter now, and does all sorts of cool things! Kite-san told me alll about him! That's why I want to become one just like him, to get to know why— wait! Wait! I'm getting off topic! Ummm, uhhh... what I mean to say is..."

_'He's thinking too much',_ I note, watching as steam poured out of his ears. Gon looked at me with a helpless expression on his face, begging me with his eyes to help him. I shrugged; I didn't know much on how to comfort people. I've spent the last couple of years in my life killing on a regular basis— and with her parents in the same state as my targets, the most I can do now is keep my mouth shut.

Besides, it's not as if she liked very much anyways— she'd probably be happier being able to punch me (not that I would actually let her) than listen to me go all ooey gooey on her. But as I opened my mouth to inform him of just that, Gon's eyes began to sparkle.

They freaking began to _sparkle_.

"Pleaseeee?" He begs, the look in his eyes beginning to make me feel uncomfortable. "Pleasee Killua?"

Shaking my head furiously, I whisper-shout, "No way!" But Gon refused to give up, his sparkly puppy eyes now literally staring into my soul. "_Onegaiii_?"

Glaring at him, I sigh and turn towards Lucinda, ignoring his hundred-watt smile. "Hey, Lulu.." Suddenly, her whole demeanor changes from a sad-orphan-girl to a say-one-more-word-and-I'll-kill-you type devil. Gon, still completely oblivious, beams at our conversation. '_Okay,'_ I think to myself. grimacing at the dark waves of displeasure emanating from her._ 'Maybe I shouldn't call her Lulu.' _"Err- I mean Lucinda..."

Suddenly, I feel a hand on my shoulder; looking back, I mentally sigh in relief to see Kurapika and the old man running behind us. "Don't worry about her," Kurapika says, squeezing in between Lucinda and I. "Leorio and I can run with her for a bit. "

"How long have you been here?" I mouth. He discreetly holds up 5 fingers behind his back. '_Ah, so he's already heard our conversation. Good.'_

"Yeah, sure," I reply. "Gon, why don't we go on ahead and meet up with them later?" Motioning for him to follow me, I ran a bit faster in front of the group. "We can race to the finish line if you want. Loser has to buy dinner."

"Mm!" Gon chirps, his bad mood from earlier completely gone. "We'll talk to you later Lucy! Kurapika! Leorio! See you there!" And with that, he turned around and sprinted towards the exit.

"Well, I'll be going too," I say, noting how Lucinda's expression still hasn't changed. "I really am- uh sorry about your parents, Lulu. Cheer up soon, okay? Try not to fail in the meantime."

Kurapika replies for her, "Of course not. Be careful though."

I nod at him and the old man— who, by the way, is now half-naked?— then turn around and began to run after Gon. "Oi, wait up!"

"Uh uhh~" he sang. "Killua's buying my dinner, Killua's buying my dinner, Killua's buying my dinner!"

I snort. '_As if.'_

•●•

"They're gone."

"'Kay," I murmur, truly glad that the blondie had replaced them; because even though it's fun hanging out with kids who are my age—well, maybe Killua not so much—just this once I find myself relieved to have them go. And thankfully, with Leorio too tired to talk and Kurapika too polite to ask, I was finally able spend a few moments alone, running with my thoughts.

_'It's already been six months, huh?'_ Thinking back to the last afternoon I'd spent with my family, I close my eyes against the wave of home-sickness that washes over me. _'It's funny seeing just how much has changed in such a short time... Even now, it still feels like it was just yesterday that I spent the day celebrating the twins' fifth birthday...'_

**6 months ago**

"3... 2... 1... Ready or not, here I come!" Spinning around, I narrow my eyes at the trees on my right, hearing the startled squeals of the girls come from the bush infront of them.

_'Gotcha.' _"I wonder where they could be..." I say loudly, turning around and walking the opposite direction. Behind me, soft sighs of relief float from the bush, making me smile at their gullibility. "I can't even tell which direction they went!"

The soft rustling of leaves follow me around, and the occasional snap of a branch fill in the silence of the forest around me. _'Hmmm,' _I think to myself, discreetly looking back towards the direction I came from. _'So they decided to start following me early on this time?' _Having played this game several times today, I already knew that the end result would be that they would follow me around while I "searched"; so I go around the area, lifting random, inanimate objects up with my _wind_ and clear a path for them to follow.

"Miaaka! Maaika!" Ignoring the little figures who dash towards a nearby tree, I look up towards the sky. "Where are you?"

The late evening sun had painted the sky a beautiful fiery red, bathing the trees in its soft warm glow. However remembering what Ma had told me about bringing the twins back before dark, I decide to finish the game and head back to where everyone was waiting.

"Looks like I can't find them afterall," I sigh, jogging back towards the forest path. "Hmmm, I think I'll go check to see if they went back to where Ma and Pa are waiting. Maybe I'll be able to find them there..."

"No you won—" I hear a muffled squeak, followed by some shuffling in a bush. Imagining that Miaka had probably tackled her sister, I chuckle to myself and pick up my pace, running towards the clearing where we had our lunch.

As the last of the sun sank below the horizon, I lit a couple a fires to float behind me, worried that the twins might lose their way in the dark. _'Almost there,'_ I think to myself, seeing the trees around me begin to thin out. 'We're almost there.' Bursting through the last of the trees, I chirp, "Tadaim—" I freeze, unable to process the scene before me.

With the picnic basket crushed and tossed aside, food was everywhere on the ground; the sweet smell of the remaining pastries mingling in the air with something more sickly and metallic— _blood_. Shadows danced across the earth, the faint glow of an electric lantern illuminating the forms of Pa, Hikaru and Kai slumped on the floor, their life's blood slowly soaking through their clothes and out onto the ground beneath them.

I covered my mouth in horror. '_What happened here?'_

"Welcome, princess." I whirl around, whipping out the dagger that I kept under my blouse. A bald, muscular man leaned against a tree, one hand holding my terrified mother around the waist and another holding a knife to her throat. Raising an eyebrow, he looked down at me. "Tsk tsk, you really should be more polite to your mother's guest."

"_Temen_..." I snarled, launching myself towards him. "Give Ma back to me!" Igniting my blade with a tendril of fire, I aim at his chest, ready to wipe that insufferable smirk off his face. But suddenly my feet are swept out from under me, the world turning upside down as I was held suspended in the air. My knife, now burnt into an indistinguishable shape, was knocked out of my grip and kicked away by the boot of a redhead who held me.

"Get OFF, you—" I let loose a string of curses, all of which sounded ridiculous in my soft, high-pitched voice. From where I hung, I could feel Redhead's body shaking from laughter, and could also hear the loud obnoxious snorts the baldie was making.

I think my mother winced.

"Mmmmmm, you're a feisty little girl, aren't you?" The redhead cooed, lifting me up so that we were eye-to-eye. "And a Nen user too, I might add. Very impressive." He whispered the second part to himself, quietly enough so that normal people would not be able to hear him. '_Nen user?'_ I wondered, _'What the heck is a Nen user?'_

But as he reached out a hand to pet me, I react and spit at him, using this chance to propel myself away from him with _wind_. However before I could even blink, he had dropped and pinned me to the ground, his knee on my back and his hands gripping mine behind me.

"Pervert!" I scream, thrashing around beneath him. "Pedophile! Dirty old man! Kink—" Stars appear behind my eyes as my face slams into the ground, blood now flowing freely from my nose. Pulling my head back by my hair, he slams it into the ground again and again, laughing as I moan and try to turn my face away from the bloodied mud beneath me. "Who's the pervert now, eh?" He sneered, slamming my face down particularly hard that time. "Am I a pervert? A pedophile? Eh? _Eh?"_

The baldie cleared his throat. "Oi, cut it out Kaga. You know they don't sell as well if they look beat up."

"It's just a broken nose. Two weeks and it'll be as good as new."

"And what about the twins?" He asks, a touch of menace creeping into his tone.

_'Miaka! Maika!'_ Ignoring the pain in my face, I renew my efforts in trying to get him to release his hold. "DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH THE—" _Bam!_ My face slams into the ground again, the small cuts stinging as the dirt slowly burrowed its way in; dimly, I register being lifted off the ground and slinged across a shoulder, the bitter smell of cigarettes invading my deformed nose.

He shrugs, making me cringe in pain as my face brushed against his shirt. "Eh, well, third time's always the charm. Anyways what should I do with this one?"

I hear the muffled cry of my mother as something falls heavily onto the ground, the soft sounds of whispers floating over to where I lay on the redhead's shoulder.

"Bring her back with us," the baldie finally answered. Hearing him walk over to me, I try to turn away but find my chin gripped in the palm of his hand; he smiles at me, his yellowed teeth painfully apparent in the close proximity. "We have no need for the others anymore."

'The... others?' I stare at him blankly, not understanding what he meant. Almost adoringly, he pats my cheek and then straightens himself up again, limiting my field of view to the back of his shirt.

"Kaga," he calls over his shoulder, "could you handle the cleanup from here? I'd like to get this little peach back before we lose her."

Redhead shrugs, and walks me over to a tree. Setting me back down on my feet, he grabs my wrists and ties them together around the tree before retreating back into the forest.

"Excellent," the baldie murmured, walking towards the limp figure on the floor. "Now... as for the mummy..." My eyes widen as I hear a knife being unsheathed, my whole body automatically turning towards the source of the sound.

He chuckles. "Hmmm, you want to see too?" He shifts over, letting me take in the scene of my mother unconscious on the ground with his knife hovering over her chest. Winking at me, he plunges it into her heart—

And then she was gone.

"No..." I whispered, unable to comprehend what had just happened. I stare at her body, watching the blood slowly bloom on her chest, like a flower unfurling its petals... Her face so serene, so at peace, so very _still_-

"NO!" I scream, pulling against the rope that held me to the tree. "NO! NO! YOU BASTARD, GIVE HER BACK! GIVE MA BACK TO ME!" Tears streamed down my face as I struggled to reach her, to be able to hear her speak my name one last time, because no- _NO_! She couldn't dead, she couldn't be dead, "SHE ISN'T DEAD!"

_Suddenly, I hear a faint voice calling my name. "Lucinda? Lucinda-san! Lucinda watch your step-"_

"Kyaaaaa!"


	6. Chapter 6

**It's been so longgg~**

**I know that I really don't upload often, but thank you to all who still read this! I've been ddoing some classes lately... so I hope my writing has improved (but uh probably not since I'm a pree slow learner)**

**And as a side note, yay! I'm a year older now! ^_^ my birthday just past on Wednesday, but sadly I had to spend it doing a math test =_=**

**Ah well, here goes! ***also, I've been rereading my previous chapters, and I've decided to do a mass-edit session sometime soon. So yeah, please bear with me til then!**

**^^Angeline**

* * *

_"No..." I whispered, unable to comprehend what had just happened. I stare at her body, watching the blood slowly bloom on her chest, like a flower unfurling its petals... Her face so serene, so at peace, so very still-_

_"NO!" I scream, pulling against the rope that held me to the tree. "NO! NO! YOU BASTARD, GIVE HER BACK! GIVE MA BACK TO ME!" Tears streamed down my face as I struggled to reach her, to be able to hear her speak my name one last time, because no- NO! She couldn't dead, she couldn't be dead, "SHE ISN'T DEAD!"_

_Suddenly, I hear a faint voice calling my name. "Lucinda? Lucinda-san! Lucinda watch your step-"_

_"Kyaaaaa!"_

* * *

**Kurapika POV**

I wince, hearing a heavy _thump_ as Lucinda trips over the edge of her cloak and lands in a bundled heap outside. Warm tendrils of sunlight streams in through the exit, a fresh scent of grass drifting in and chasing away the final traces of the tunnel's damp musk. With Leorio right behind me, I jog up the last couple of steps and spot Gon and Killua crouched over her, their not-so-quiet conversation drawing the attention of the people around them.

"I'm pretty impressed that someone like you would consider taking the Exam," Killua says as I walk up to them. "I mean, that looked like probably hurt, ne?" Casually he leaned away and dodged Gon's elbow, unconcerned by the exasperated expression on his face.

"Killua!"

A dense fog surrounded the platform we were standing on, the shadows of landscape around us almost invisible behind it. The examiner stood near the front of the group waiting, where- to my surprise- almost three hundred people were waiting.

"Ite..." Lucinda moaned, pulling her knees to her chest. I snap my attention back to her and see her cloak shift upwards, revealing two, thin, twig-like legs dressed in black tights. The fabric was already ripped in several places, the holes in the clothing hastily covered by some scraps of black fabric sewed on top. On her feet were a pair of white shoes, the colour of the material already turning pale yellow from a lack of maintenance.

_'Is this why she wears a cloak?'_ I wonder, looking at her poor quality clothing. _'Is she trying to hide what she's wearing?'_

Gon crouched down beside her, tugging at her arm as he tried to coax Lucinda out of her fetus position. "Leave me alone," she choked out, pushing him away. However, undeterred, he continued to tug on her arm, oblivious to the sweat collecting on her face.

"Did you hurt yourself?" I ask, crouching down next to Gon. He looks at me in confusion, and then back at Lucinda as she suddenly goes still.

"Did you?" She doesn't answer, only dips her head as the hood falls over her eyes. I sigh. "You did, didn't you?"

"My ankle," she whispers. I nod, and gently pull her right leg out for me to inspect. Her cloak falls away from the bottom, revealing a dark purple skirt that came down to her knees. But suddenly, somebody roughly pushes me aside, a bare back now obscuring my view of her.

"Leorio?" I ask incredulously, watching as he efficiently pulled off her shoe and began to check the different areas around her foot. A soft hiss escapes Lucinda's lips as he pokes a particularly sensitive area, her small face scrunched up against the pain; nodding to himself, he puts the shoe back on her foot and stands up.

"It's just a twisted ankle," he says, "No biggie, rest it for a bit and it'll be as good as new."

"Where did you learn to do that?" Gon asks, voicing my own unspoken question.

He shrugs. "From places." He turns away, looking into the fog around us. Taking this as a signal to drop the topic, I walk over to where Lucinda lay and pull her up from the ground.

"Thanks," she mumbles, leaning on my arm for support. I raise one of my eyebrows; she was incredibly light, even lighter than what her height suggested.

Suddenly, a loud screeching noise fills the air. "W-wait! WAIT! WAIT FOR ME!" We spin around to see a man screaming from where he lay inside the exit, one arm reaching towards us and the other struggling to push himself off the floor. Nobody moved to help him as a metal door slowly sunk over the opening, and within a few moments the exit was sealed, the quiet thump resounding throughout the area.

"Damn," Lucinda breathes.

_'Damn,'_ I agree.

•●•

Lucinda POV

I glowered at the sky from where I lay tied to Killua's skateboard, the occasional bump of the path making me grip the sides for dear life.

"Let. Me. Go." I say through gritted teeth. Stretching my bound hands towards where Gon had hooked his fishing hook onto the skateboard, I tried to push it off. "Gon! Let me go!"

He and Killua looked back from where they ran infront of me, both of them wearing similar expressions of doubt. It'd only taken them a total of 5 seconds to come up with this be-damned plan, and even less than that to actually execute it. "I'd love to," Killua replied, turning back around. "But if I did, Gon here wouldn't be very happy."

Gon smiled at me apologetically, and tugged on his fishing rod to bring me up beside them. "We couldn't just leave you to the marshland animals, Lucy-chan."

"I'm FINE, okay?" I try again to wriggle out of the bounds Kurapika had tied. 'What is he," I think, wincing as the fishing line dug into my skin. 'A professional knot-tier?"

"Oi, you're going to break my board if you keep flailing around like that."

"THEN LET ME OFF YOU DIMWITTED SON OF A PIG!"

Keeping up my torrent of insults, I ignore the strange looks on the faces of the candidates around us- and in turn was ignored by Killua as well. He turned away and muttered to Gon, "Hey, I think we should move up."

"Why?" He replied.

Killua looked back towards where the other applicants ran, his eyes focusing specifically on that creep of a clown. "It's Hisoka... I'm not really liking the way he smells right now."

_'Smell? I don't smell anything.'_ Gon took a deep breath, his face scrunching in confusion when he didn't detect a strange scent either. "What do you mean?"

"Just trust me on this one, okay? Let's move closer to the examiner."

"Sure," Gon replied. "KU-RA-PI-KA! LE-O-RIO! KILLUA SAID THAT WE SHOULD MOVE TO THE FRONT!"

_'Did he just...?' _I burst out laughing. "Oi!" Killua says, "Don't go yelling those things!"

In couple a moments the faint response of Leorio floated over to where we ran. "If we could, we would've a long time ago!"

Gon yelled back, "Try harder!"

"That's what we're trying to DO, you imbeci-"

"Don't worry," Kurapika's interrupted, "we'll manage on our own. You guys can go ahead."

"Okay then!" Gon turned back to us and lowered his voice, "Leorio and Kurapika said they can manage on their own."

I mentally face-palmed myself. 'Oh Gon...' "Thanks for letting us know." Killua muttered back, his resignation clear on his face. Gon beamed at us.

_10 minutes later..._

"Are we there yet?" I moaned. My legs, which were tucked and tied against my chest, had begun to cramp from the awkward position they were forced into.

"No," answers Killua.

"When will we be there?"

"I don't know."

Sighing in frustration, I wriggle around on my side in a half-attempt to stretch my legs. Although I was small- and by small, I mean really small- the skateboard was even smaller, meaning that half of my body was hovering above the around at all times.

Suddenly, a jolt knocks me towards the right. My half-stretched-out foot hits the ground, the friction causing the skateboard to swerve to the side. Gon and Killua's heads whip around, a mix of concern and annoyance creasing their foreheads. "What are you doing?" Killua snaps.

Sheepishly, I tuck my legs back in and look away. "Errr- nothing. Sorry."

He rolls his eyes and turns back around to the front. Gon, who had been staring intently at something behind me, suddenly spoke. "Killua. They're gone."

"Yeah, I know." Gon turns around and catches up to him, leaning in to whisper something in his ear; he shakes his head in response, jabbing his finger towards the direction the group was running.

"But..." Gon protested. Killua just shakes his head again, and mutters something to him.

_'Assholes,'_ I think, glaring at the backs of their heads. Clearing my throat loudly, I ask, "Would ANYONE like to explain this to me?".

They look up in surprise, as if forgetting that I was still there; with a flick of his wrist, Gon pulled me toward them.

"Leorio and Kurapika are gone."


	7. Chapter 7

**Gah.**

**Okay, I'll be upfront about what took me so long to update this. In truth, ****I'm just really _really_ unsatisfied with the way this chapter turned out on paper... especially when it came to the last couple of sections. However, because time is precious and yada yada yada, I'm going to post this now and suffer the consequences later while I do my edits. (really, I need this out of the way because I and just itching to begin the next portion of the plot)**

**School has been really unforgiving lately, and to add on to that I've been absorbed in a bunch of other animes (ahem Chihayafuru, Zankyou No Terror, Akame Ga Kill— y'know, just other anime) I completely lost my inner HxH muse to the labyrinth of my mind.**

**But okay— the excuses have begun to start. So before I can continue to spill my life story to y'all, I'll just say this.**

**I'm sorry.**

**Good thing is that I have this amazing 6 day weekend coming up, so in that time I'll be able to start cracking on Chapter 8, and also spend a chunk of my time going over the last couple of chapters. Thank you all so much for sticking with me so far, and I promise I'll do my best to be able to post regularly.**

**Sa— hope y'all enjoy this chunky piece of literature.**

**3 Angeline **

(p.s. I've started to draw anime too? wow I can't even to myself)

(p.p.s. this chapter will have some colourful language from Killua. Tsk. Watch for a *** to know when they will be coming. Another set of *** will signal the end of the rainbow.)

* * *

**Lucinda POV**

Time seemed to freeze itself around us; the sun, the breeze, the other applicants cutting us off as we were stuck standing in a tense circle of absolute unpleasantness. I looked up and saw Gon and Killua staring back at me, breaths held as they waited for me to acknowledge the truth of the situation. "What...?" Sensing my agitation, a small vortex began to swirl around me, my blonde hair threatening to be set loose from my cloak.

_Shoot. _Taking a deep breath in, I slowly exhale and imagine pushing away the air that had collected; once I was sufficiently calm, I tried again. "Where? When did that happen?"

"Don't know, don't care." Killua narrowed his eyes at Gon. "But this _baka_ here wants to go look and for them."

"Of course I do!" He replied.

"You do know that they're long gone, right?"

A vision of Kurapika and Leorio lying dead on the forest floor flashes through my mind, and I couldn't help but shudder at the thought of what could be happening to them.

"Leorio and Kurapika are our friends!" Gon shouted. "We got here together, so we've got to pass together too!"

"And what about this friend?" Killua jabbed a finger at me. "Doesn't she have to pass with you guys as well?"

"Well yes, but-"

"Who's more important? The shrimp or the others?"

"It's not that! Killua, I can't just stay here."

"Then decide now!"

I freeze, unsure about what his reply would be. _Damn... he's probably going to kick me out now. I mean, I've only been with them for a short time, and from what I've heard the three of them are real good friends... _

Glancing at Gon's determined face, I sigh. _Well, I guess it's better to reject than to be rejected right? I could leave now and still have a chance if I can follow some other people. Besides, they've been nice enough to lend me some of their help. _"Hey, it's fine," I start to say, "I can take it from he-"

With a flick of Gon's wrist, the ties around me loosened and then retracted back into his fishing rod. Reaching out to grab my hands, I grip them in surprise as he then gently set me on my feet next to Killua.

He snorts. "Oi, are you daft? That'll slow us down even more, you know. She can't even _walk_."

"Yes, but you can." We looked at him in confusion, only realizing too late after he turned on his heel and sprinted back towards where we came from. "Bye Killua! Bye Lucy-chan! See you at the finish line!"

_Oh crap..._

"GET BACK HERE!" Killua yelled, a deadly aura emanating from where he stood. It'd only taken a total of two seconds before he had sprinted after Gon, but apparently that was enough for him to stop and begin his death promises. "_TEMEN, _I'M GOING TO KILL YOU! I SWEAR, WHAT THE _FUCK_ AM I SUPPOSED TO DO WITH THIS USELESS THING FOR THE NEXT HOUR, YOU LITTLE SHIT?! YOU'RE SUCH A FUCKI-" He abruptly stopped, and ran a hand through his stark white hair.

_Well, that didn't take much to calm him down. I think I expected more from someone who's got a prickly personality like him... _

I started. "Good luck." He said, appearing back at my side again. Giving me a sarcastic salute, he grabbed his skateboard and walked off, leaving me staring after him in shock. "You're going to need it."

_What?! _"Hey, wait up! What do you mean 'good luck'?" I shout, hobbling after him; however, he ignores me and jumps on his skateboard. "Killua! Killua!"

"Go find someone else to cuddle up to, Lulu!"

"Killua!" One of his feet lifted up from the ground. "Wait, KILLUA!" It goes down, pushing off of the dirt. "KIL-" Suddenly, the ground beneath me begins to shake, bringing me down as the light from the sky was swallowed up by a dark, jagged eclipse. _A secret cave?!_

_Why do I have to have an accident right after Gon leaves?! _I look up and see Killua not too far ahead, holding onto a red wall as his skateboard tumbled into an abyss behind him. _You've got to be kidding me, I can't survive this with someone like him!_

"The heck is this?!" He yelled as the ground beneath him disintegrated. Sensing the ground beneath _me_ begin to shake again, I desperately reached for my _wind— _

—and slap my forehead when only a weak breeze fluttered around me. My energy levels were still too low.

_Damn it! Damn it, damn it, damn it, why in the world did I have to end up with this premature old man in this STUPID HELLHOLE!_

"Killua! Any ideas?" I yell. He glares at me and turns back to watch the opening get smaller and smaller above us, one of his hands gripping the wall and the other rummaging around in his pocket.

"Or maybe not," I mutter as the final sliver of light got shut out. Everything was tinged red now- the ground, my shoes, his shirt. He was still looking at the place where we had entered from, muttering something to himself as he hung by one of his arms.

Sitting up, I take a deep breath in as I got into a meditative position. _If Killua isn't going to help, getting my energy back will be my first priority right now. Hopefully, this will take 30 minutes, max, but... _Crossing my legs, I let that thought trail off as I closed my eyes and breathed out, letting the residual energy begin to grow and fill the void inside me-

"Kyaa!" A wet glob of liquid dropped onto me, soaking the top and front of my cloak and leaving a sickly sweet scent. Scrambling away from where I sat, I look up to see a red knob hanging from a thick red string, another ball of liquid already collecting at its tip.

_Where the heck is this? _I think as I crawled towards the opposite wall. _Now I really, really don't think that this is just a cave. Just what kind of cave is re- _"What do you think you're doing?!"

With his back towards me, Killua didn't even glance up as he proceeded to to take off his shoes, a pile of clothing already bunched up on the floor behind him. My face started to burn as I realized he'd only had a pair of boxers on, the material stretching as he bent over and picked up the clothing behind him.

"Killua, did you hear me?! What the heck are you doing?!"

"I never said you could look, pervert." He turned around, and I slapped a hand over my eyes as he sauntered towards me.

"Why are even you naked in the first place?!" I demanded.

"First of all, I'm not naked," he says.

"You know what I mean! We need to get out of here, not whatever the heck you're doing!" Sliding a couple of my fingers apart, I sigh in relief when I saw his back again, moving away from me and towards the hol-

"_Baka!_ What are you doing?!" I yell, horrified when he sat down and slid his legs inside.

He looked back at me. "Second of all, I am trying to get us out. Or me out. Now, if you'll excuse me..." And with that, he pushed off the ledge and slid into the hole.

_"Killua!" _I scream. Scrambling up onto my feet again, I rushed over to where he had jumped and looked around desperately for a sign of his white hair. _"Killua are you okay?!" _A quiet, rhythmic pounding resounded through the walls, filling in the silence of his reply.

_Oh my god. _"Killua!" _What is the heck is wrong with him?_ "Killua!" _Is he actually dead?! "Killua, you're such an ASSHOLE!"_

Panting, I sat back on my heels and squeezed my eyes shut. _Great._

"What am I supposed to do now?" I moaned to myself. _Kurapika, Leorio, this is all your fault! Why, why did you guys have to disappear? Why couldn't you have been more careful in the be-damned forest, even when you knew it was dangerous? I haven't even gotten to know anybody and you're all dying; you're all dying just like-_

A tear trickled down my cheek, and angrily I swiped it away with the sleeve of my cloak. _Damn it. Why am I even crying? It's not as though I knew those guys very well anyways; we just met for goodness' sake._

Sniffling, I pushed myself off the floor and bowed my head towards the hole he had gone through. Closing my eyes and clasping my hands together, I muttered, "Guess I should pay my respects."

"I didn't like you very much, fake old man," I said. Swiping my sleeve across my eyes again, I took a deep breath before continuing. "You were obnoxious, arrogant, annoying, horrible, mean, sarcastic, generally asshole-y-esque." _Oops._ "But..."

I froze, not knowing what to say. _Errr, to be very honest, he was absolutely terrible. Like horrible terrible. Seriously, that guy really pissed me off. But since he's gone, I need something nice to say... _"But... I think you're actually a nice guy?" _Not really. _

"Well, I mean you lent me your skateboard... and you get along well with Gon... Because you know how nice Gon is right? Only nice people would be able to get along with other nice people, so because you get along with Gon then-"

_Wait no. That logic's not right. Nice people get along with pretty much everyone. So technically I'm implying that Killua's not a nice person._

"Anyways," I continued, wincing a bit at that previous section. "You're nice person because I said you are. Or think you are. Or hope you are...?" I trailed off. "Rest in peace, Killua. You'll be missed."

_Was that too rude of me...? _I wondered as I walked back and sat down on my spot against the wall. _Well, can't blame myself for a bad experience with him. He was rude, through and through. However, I wonder what I should do with these now..._

Picking up the pieces of clothing from the ground, I began to fold each piece into a pile, carefully smoothing out the wrinkles that had sunk into the areas around the sleeves.

"Well then, Lucy," I muttered to myself. Frowning at the way the sweater had turned out, I picked it up and began to fold it again. "Now that you're officially by yourself; any ideas?"

Placing the two shoes on top if the completed pile, I sighed. _Great. I've demoted myself to talking to myself. But seriously, what am I supposed to do?!_

"Look for a way out?" I murmured. However I immediately shook my head and vetoed it.

_No. I won't get anywhere just by doing that. Think, Lucy, think! What do you have at your disposal right now?_

"To start off, Killua's clothes. And then my clothes, my knife, a hair tie, two jennies..." Suddenly, it hit me.

"My powers!" Jumping up from where I sat, I hesitantly reached out for my wind; a breeze appeared, dancing around my shoulders and pushing my hood off.

"Perfect." _However it seems as though I haven't completely recharged yet, so I guess for the time being I'll try to lay off of it as much as possible. But as of right now-_

_"Wind." _ Raising my arm, immediately I began to float upwards towards the ceiling. Directing my body towards the place the opening had disappeared, I settled myself on a ledge beside it and readied myself to pull the door apart.

"One, two, three, pull!" Grasping the two lip-like edges, I tried to pull them away from each other; however, they wouldn't budge.

"One, two, three, pull!" The edges remained clamped together, with hardly any difference in their position.

"One, two three, pull! _Pull! Pull! OHMYGOSH JUST— GAH."_

"This... is... impossible..." I panted as I leaned against the wall. Taking my cloak off, I wrapped it around Killua's clothes and threw them into the air, quickly building a net of air to catch it and levitate it next to me.

_Maybe if I use some fire...? _Rolling the sleeves of my blouse up, I carefully called out a small flame to burn on the tip of my pointer. The unnaturally bright red immediately appeared, but with is came a noticeable drop in my energy levels.

_Okay, gotta do this quick. Sa- _bringing my finger towards the wall, I began to slowly work my way through. Once I'd waited for the sliver of burnt material to cool, I brought my hands to it and began to pull it apart again.

"Come... on... you-" The sliver began to open, letting in a precious slit of light. I panted, resting my fingers inside the opening and then began to pull again.

"Just... open... up... _you_?!" The hole suddenly tore apart, and without anything to lean onto I was pitched forward towards the moving floor.

_"Kyaaa!" Bam! _Landing on my arms and knees, I grimaced as the unforgiving surface cut through the thin material of my blouse and tights. Rolling onto my back, I wince and cover my eyes as the bright light of the sun shone through the clouds in the sky.

___Wait, I'm out? _I'm... I'm really, I'm really- suddenly, a wave of water appeared above me. Panicking, I shot up onto my feet and raised my arm, cutting through it and bringing it down onto either side of me.

_"Wind!" _ Propelling myself out of the way of the splash, I pant as I hover in the air above the spot I was just sitting in a minute.

_Whew... that was a close one... _Floating back down, I settle myself on the ground and collapse on my knees.

_Where did all that water come from anyways? _I wondered as I slowly calmed down. Looking around, I frowned as nothing out of the ordinary jumped out at me.

"All's well that ends well, I guess." Calling back the package I'd floated earlier, I closed my eyes as I waited for it come back from where it had disappeared.

_Okay... now... what next?_ _Because of that surprise water attack, I'm going to have to wait a bit longer to get back all my energy. Once I have that, my best bet would probably be to survey the area from up high..._

I sighed. _Hopefully, I can do all that before this phase ends. _"Gahhh, why is this so complicated? And where the HECK is my cloak?!"

"Looking for this?" said a familiar voice.

I spun around,

...and froze when I saw who was leaning on a tree.

"Killua?!"


End file.
